Man charged with attempted murder after stabbing at Rainbow Park

“It was just a matter of time.”

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Sharon Docherty, who lives across from Rainbow Park on Christina Street, has seen an encampment there grow. She’s visited, talked to people there, and heard their stories.

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She’s not in favor of the encampment and spoke to city council Monday about the drug paraphernalia and weapons she’s seen, including calling police about someone waiving a knife at a tree.

So, what happened Monday seemed like it was inevitable, she said.

A person was stabbed in the neck Monday in Rainbow Park, police said in a Tuesday news release.

It happened around 6:30 pm, just a couple of hours after city council decided to push pause on clearing out the encampment, amid legal and human rights concerns, and giving up to two weeks to develop a protocol for encampments in Sarnia.

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The man who was stabbed is expected to recover and knows the person who stabbed him, police said.

A suspect was arrested after fleeing the scene, police said.

Richard William Thomas Hales, 33, of Sarnia is charged with attempted murder and failure to comply with a probation order.

Police wouldn’t say if either person has been camping in the park.

“We don’t release information regarding addresses, fixed or otherwise,” spokesperson Marika Sylvain Groendyk said in an email.

“We hear the rumors of the weapons that are hidden in the park,” said Docherty, who said she’s also heard from the people living there about fights with baseball bats, and people slashing tents if they’re upset.

“Somebody got beat with a golf club,” she said she overheard at the scene Monday evening.

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“That’s why the guy got stabbed. Retaliation.”

The estimated 30 to 40 people living in the park have serious mental health issues and drug dependencies, said Docherty. City council should have had a plan ready to go for Monday’s meeting — after voting in April to wait until May 6 to clear the encampment, then rescinding that decision Monday — not asked for more time, she said.

“Everybody wants to believe these are people who just lost their job and (can’t afford rent),” she said. “That’s not these people. That’s not who’s in this park.”

The situation remains urgent, Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley said.

“The incident is very unfortunate,” he said.

“When you’re dealing with homeless issues, these issues do happen.”

Hopes are the community safety and well-being leadership group reports back on a protocol — a set of rules about how to deal with encampments in the city — quickly, he said.

The stabbing “demonstrates why we need to move as quickly as possible … then look at the options,” he said.

Bradley homeless encampments have become an issue everywhere in Ontario, and recalled stressed county council passed a motion last week asking Queen’s Park to take the lead.

Coun. Anne Marie Gillis said she worries for neighbors, and hopes a council directive to satisfy the requirement for “truly accessible” shelter spaces leads to dismantling the encampment soon.

“So we can actually move ahead with that at our next meeting,” she said.

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